What a couple of days!

I have been busy taking all my remaining Christmas down and putting Valentines up. Having a shop is a commitment to a never ending cycle. I consider myself blessed since my sells have not gone down with the economy. This area of Texas seems not to be affected like the national economy have been. I live very close to Fort Hood but my costumers are mostly from Belton and Temple. My costumers are mostly white females between the ages of 20 all the way to 70, which is surprising to me, that is for the older ladies to embrace Shabby Chic and my junk. Some of them have lived with the same furniture for the last 20 or 30 years and are looking for a drastic change. My fellow latinas don't come in the shop. Three years ago I went back home and decide to bring visuals(my decorating books and pictures as testament) so my family and friends will understand what my style is all about. They didn't understand what the appeal of rusted, distressed,crazed, tattered and all forms of yummy could be. They all saw junk. I was told that if a bring my business to the Island I will go out of business in no time. I wish I have the money to show them. I have make believers out of people that doubted I will make a go of my business. I was told my location is the worst, not the right building, not the right stuff,etc,etc...BUT I got the last laugh, Been there, done that for 11 years now. We survived 9/11, Katrina,Bush, etc. God willing we will be here for years to come. I'm praying for the next location since 3,000 sf don't work for me any more. I need 10,000, it will come, you will see. Lastly, I sound like a bragging queen bee. I'm not, this baby have cost me sweat, pain and tears, but the lessons, the blessings, the road here have been life changing for me, you see, I'm not all that. I started with no money, but I figure My Father in Heavens got all the riches in earth and the heavens, Nobody else have faith in the journey that I was about to embark. Why leaving a secure job and paycheck, my desk and professional clothes for painting overalls? I pray about my business for 10 years. I wanted to be still young since I know it was going to be hard work. When God opened the door for my I jump in knowing he was going to back me up. I figure that at the end of the day, if all I have is God favor I will need nothing else. Sometimes I show at the shop with a long list to do, but God have other plans that day for me. I remember praying that my place will be one of peace, that God spirit will dwell there and that people with the need of a word of comfort, or a hug will find it there. So, now you have it. That is what we do @Marta's Room. We got to have church almost everyday. Sometimes I give, sometimes I receive, Isn't GOD good?Blessings, Marta.
PD: photos of Valentines decor in two days

I love dolls

Are they cute or what? I love dolls composition and bisque

specially. No Barbies please. You probably going to notice that they are all wearing either pink or cream colored dresses. The ones in the first and last picture reside @ Marta's Room. I do not sell them, they are there to keep me company. I have lost count of how many I got, never enough if you ask me. Storybook dolls, loved them. My first 10 I bought @ a rummage sell. They were inside a plastic container full of water. Some of the hat and dresses were ruined but I managed to rescue some. I have to pay a good buck for the ones I have found after that.

More storybook dolls and some german babies.

This poor baby was falling apart. I filled the cracks with wood putty and try to match the skin color. She just have the cuttest face and I refuse to give up on her.

Last, Is she sweet or what? I love her original hair and she got teeth. I hope you enjoy my babies as much as I do. Good night, blessings, Marta.

Christmas loot

Remember I mentioned I trade a couple of pieces of furniture in my living room? Well, this is the gentleman's armoire I replaced for the white cabinet with all the pink dishes. It's supposed to be a bedroom piece but I don't think there are many rules in decorating, only one that I honor, I must love it and if it makes sense to me I don't care about the rules. I place my husbands coats and jackets in the inside and all my huge purses in the bottom drawer. So, its pretty and functional. Love, love.

I made a point of taking a couple of days off for personal shopping and maybe some stuff for the shop. I'm a bad girl since I brought all the stuff home. I decided to keep it all since I didn't get resale prices in any of it. I splurge in the tussie mussie with the sweet girl picture. I paid 22$ at The Roundrock Antique Mall. They got beautiful things that you can buy for keeps. The tray with the lace insert I got @ the flea in San Antonio for a song. The pretty pink jewelry I have to have, no bargain there. The pincushion girl was $38 and she will be #6 in my ever growing collection. Finally the cuttie shaving deal. I paid 10.00, too much for my taste but given the fact that it is the first one I ever seen I went ahead and got it.

Now, can you blame me for paying retail for this "people"? They got the sweetest faces.Retail again but worth it. They were in mint condition.

I got a million shoe horms for sale @ the store but this pair were too cute and I love the patina in them. The necklace is really pretty. It got about 6 strands with all sort of pretties hanging from string. The little brush makes #3 in my collection. The little box that look like a jewerly case contains a miniature Bible inside. I got 4 more miniature books that day. Gorge them all.

Last, I found 3 gold mirrors which I plan to paint cream and glaze them with nutmeg color. The post office scale I got for a song. The little shoes (size 4 women's) are velvet with rhinestones inside the slit bow plus they are cream color. The little nosegay is cream color silk roses with velvet leaves, they are the most beautiful one, the picture don't do any justice to them. The little clock works and is heavy. It's made of enamel and glass and it still works. The little choir girls is a Rubens. She got a little chip in the edge but considering I only paid $2. So, that just part of the stuff i bought over a couple of outings over the Holidays. The rest you will have to come by the shop and buy it there. Hopefully by know you are starting to figure out my style and the kind of things you may find in my shop. I only buy what I like, for which I get a lot of grief from my husband. He believes I should buy everything if is cheap enough, men, what do they know? Anyway, see you later my friends. Blessings, Marta.

New Year resolutions...NOT

This is what I get to see almost every morning from my bay window. Life is good.
Of course is winter and everything looks the same color of the cows.

I can't wait for Spring!

A new year for which I promised myself I was not going to get into the new year resolutions deal. I think I know what needs to get done, i just have to stay on task( yeah right). I'm extremely thankful for what 2009 brought, just happy to be alive and well. Life is so precious.

I'm not sure about what I want to do with my blog. Should I keep it impersonal and straight forward business or should it be a reflection of me. Blogs are an amazing self promoting kind of tool, free advertisement for many, but the blogs that I really love are the ones that reveal to you the person behind the words. People love blogs with many pictures, good pictures. I am not talented that way, biggest handicap been my computer illiteracy. I don't want a food blog, I hate cooking and I can't follow a recipe. I used to be really good in Science, a bookworm, not so much at the time of practicing what we learned. I will get an A in biology and Chemistry and a C in lab work. Lab was like cooking to me. I like Top Chef, that is as far as it goes, no, I lied, I like to sample other people culinary creations. So, no food, no recipes. I hope that will not cost me some friendships.
You will hear a lot about my shop, not because I want you to come and buy all my junk. I love my shop and the lifestyle attached to it. I love been my own boss. I'm passionate about old times and old things, the story attached to it, sometimes if there no story I imagine one. I like for things to speak to me, to move me. Nothing like a piece of vintage lace, and old hankie with beautiful needlework. I get to dream and imagine how, who, where, what. I consider myself a caretaker, sometimes I think I'm in the wrong business since selling the stuff is hard and sometimes painful. It is like seen one of your kids leave. In the other hand nothing pleases me more than to see a happy face and knowing that what ever it is will be loved and treasure by somebody else. So... There will be a lot of talk about junk and the beauty of it.

I'm planning on blogging about the other shops in town, mostly because the shop owners are dear friends and because I'm in love with the people and town we lived in. I will blog about tea parties, I wish I can have one every weekMaybe I will blog a little about TV, and some of the crazy shows I follow. I travel quite a lot, so maybe I will blog about that. I love to watch movies and music , maybe I'll talk about that. Finally and most importanly, I will talk about God, a lot, without censorship and with freedom in my heart.I might end up with 10 followers friends, I will be happy and thankful for them. So... let's see where this blog will take me. I wanted it and I finally have one, I'm sooo happy. Blessings, Marta.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you and your families a new year full of spiritual, financial and personal blessings. That is to my 9 followers and how many new friends blogland will bring me. Blessings,Marta.

Before and after

I love pillows, lots of them. I will post later the view from my bay window. I live across a closed army target field. They use it now for pastures for cows and horses, so I feel like I live in the country.

No more red, yellow or pink in the living room. I got taupe colored walls, cream tile floors and brown and cream furniture. The jar is full of a million mother of pearl buttons. I collect, no, I gorge buttons. I have a collection of mother of pearl items. I used shells in my decor too.

The cream cabinet with the pink dishes is no longer here. I moved it to the kitchen. I found the most amazing french gentlemen armorie in my last travel to San Antonio. I could not bring myself to sell it, so it now resides in the spot where the white one was.

The 8 feet German monster. At least my shrank got contemporary lines. It could be worst. Almost everybody else I know got the black forest style furniture, you know the heavily carved scenes, the hunter and the deer, The coo coo clocks etc. Thank God!

I stash away my pink and roses dishes and went for cream ware, ironstone and cream colored pottery. The biggest expense was a distressed french reproduction cabinet. It replaced the 8 feet German shrank. I tough about painting the German shrank but that would have been too labor intensive for me plus that piece is in mint condition. I took it to the shop and I'm planing on getting storage value out of it. Then again, they sold one not as nice as mine for 1,500 in another shop downtown. We will see, somebody ugly is somebodys pretty. Ah, I got the french cabinet without measuring the height of my ceiling. We got 3 inches left of space. That was a close call and there was no returns on it. I'm loving it, we are spending more time than ever before in the living room. Victorian furniture is pretty but not necesarily comfortable. My new chairs are super comfy. What do you think? Let's see how long the cream phase last. By the way, I don't know if you have noticed but most designers are doing the creams and taupes combinations. Brown furniture is back combined with painted pieces. I loved, but it makes me think that it really takes along time for certain areas to catch up with the trends. I was revisiting my old Victoria Magazines and Icame across a copy from 1994 featuring Carol Bolton's store in Frederiskburg, Texas. She was way ahead everybody else. It looked like Romantic Homes today. Amazing! That is what I need a magic ball so I can know what the next trend is going to be. Ok, I have drag this post long enough. You all have yourself a blessed New Year. Blessings, Marta.

My beloved family

My little brother Gerardo, my sister in law, Rosa and my three nephews, Geremy 13, Joshua 6 and Neithan.

My little nephew Neithan. He is the smartest 5 year old I have ever seen and does the craziest thing, he have an accent. Kids usually don't have accents. They ultimately choose a language, Neithan speaks both Spanish and English.

My mama with her three babies. Gerardo the baby, me and my other brother Junno. I'm the oldest one. My mom will be 70 next year and she is in tiptop shape, sharp like a knife.

Finally and most importantly my teddy bear Jose. We have been married for 23 years!. I love you baby.